You need to go back and re-read my post, without putting words in my mouth. I said the presence of a mature buck will suppress the testosterone output in immature deer, that is a fact that has been proven scientifically in captive herds.

As I stated before, you have the opinion that stress will increase when there's more competition. I have the opinion that there's more stress when there's a smaller buck population in an over populated herd, because those bucks have to do a lot more breeding. We're hypothesizing as to which factors cause MORE stress, and currently theres no scientific work proving or disproving that only one of us is right.

There is, however, evidence proving that social stresses in an overpopulated herd reduces antler growth in bucks. So to say stress is not a factor in PA is an oversight on your part, IMO.